Ending a three-week-long deadlock in the peace process, the Special Committee on Sunday decided to start the process of giving voluntary retirement to the combatants within a week starting Monday. It said the process will be completed in 12 days. [break]
In yet another decision, the committee also directed the government to ask the Nepal Army to make necessary preparations for integration of the combatants who have opted for integration. The prime minister is calling a meeting of the Special Committee members and the Nepal Army officials soon to discuss the inegration process, said Special Committee member Bhim Rawal.
"The Special Committee has decided to direct its secretariat to start necessary administrative and banking works from tomorrow [Monday]," said Special Committee spokesperson and Chief Secretary Madhav Prasad Ghimire, after the meeting of the Special Committee.
As the retiring combatants will be paid through account payee checks, they will have to open bank account in their names within a week. The government will give half of their money before they leave the cantonments and the remaining will be paid in the next fiscal year. As per the November 1 peace deal, voluntarily retiring combatants will be paid from Rs 500,000 to Rs 800,000, depending upon their rank in the Maoist army.
"The secretariat will dispatch 91 staff in seven teams of 13 members, one to each main cantonment once all preparations are made to start the process before the deadline set by the Special Committee," Balananda Sharma, convener of the secretariat, told Republica.
Sharma said the secretariat has planned to start the process of giving voluntary retirement from the main cantonments and the teams will move to all satellite cantonments one after another to give voluntary retirement to PLA personnel in uniform. These are the same staff who were involved in categorization of the Maoist combatants in November.
The secretariat has planned to take along officials from Nepal Rastra Bank, Nepal Bank Limited and Agricultural Development Bank so that the combatants can open bank accounts at the cantonments.
"We will ask the combatants to leave for the cantonments once their money is deposited in their accounts," said Sharma.
The teams will give Rs 2000, 5,000 and 8,000 as travel expenses to the combatants from Tarai districts, hill districts and mountain districts respectively.
In yet another decision, the Special Committee has directed the government to make necessary arrangement for security of cantonments once the combatants are given voluntary retirement. Similarly, the Committee has also directed the secretariat to update details of the physical infrastructure of all cantonments.
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